This March 17, 2013 file photo shows runners passing in front of the Chinese Theater on Hollywood Boulevard during the 28th Los Angeles Marathon. (Photo by David Crane/Los Angeles Daily News/File)

Daniel Tapia gets a drink while crossing Bixby Bridge in the 25th Big Sur Marathon in 2010. Tapia, a member of the U.S. National team says the wall is real and was painful for him. (Orville Myers/ Monterey County Herald file)

The most memorable marathon moment in Southern California has to be at the 1984 Olympics.

It was not a triumphant finish. Gabriele Andersen-Schiess had 400 meters to go in the 26.2-mile race. The Swiss runner entered the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in a walk and then went into a slow jog before reaching the final 200 meters. She started walking again, staggering and zigzagging across multiple lanes of the track, repeatedly rebuffing advances from medical personnel. She collapsed into the arms of the safety workers when she crossed the finish line.

Her condition is what marathoners call “hitting the wall.”

“People think elite (athletes) are exempt from it,” said Palmdale’s Sergio Reyes, who won the 2010 U.S. national marathon title. “That’s not the case. I’ve learned that the hard way many times over.”

And more than likely it will happen Sunday to hundreds of runners, even among the 90-plus elite athletes. The 30th annual ASICS L.A. Marathon will race from Dodger Stadium to the Pacific Ocean in Santa Monica, where record temperatures are expected. More than 26,000 will take part in the annual race, which will also serve as the USA Track & Field national championships.

“Hitting the wall” — also known as “bonk” — is a condition known almost exclusively in extreme long-distance races, especially marathons. It is when the body can no longer produce energy and is tapped out.

U.S. national team member Daniel Tapia of Mammoth remembers hitting the wall in his first marathon.

“It was so unexpected and a most humbling experience, which I had never had before,” he said of the race he ran five years ago. “There is not much you can do. You have that dream to go at that pace, but your body can’t move. You’re doing everything in your power, but the body just shuts down.

“I did not know about fueling myself. I just had water and halfway through my stomach was already cramping. It was the most painful race I have ever done in my life.”

The myth is the body runs out of energy at about the 20-mile mark. Tapia, 29, said it can happen at any time during a race; 16 miles, 20 miles, 22 miles, 25 miles.

Or in the memorable case of Andersen-Schiess, with millions of people watching on television, 400 meters from the finish line.

“It all starts with training and getting the amount and volume of glycogen and used fat that you exert every two hours during a race,” he said. “An elite athlete should never hit the wall.”

The body stores glycogen within muscles, blood and the liver. Glycogen is quickly converted to glucose as energy is burned. In shorter distance events, the glycogen levels in the muscles should be able to handle all of that race. But once it is depleted, the body looks for other sources of glycogen, in the blood and liver. During the race, athletes must find ways to restore their glycogen levels andkeep hydrated, to avoid the wall.

There are methods of avoiding the meltdown.

“When you are training a massive amount of miles and stick with the race pace, it should not be an issue,” Kastor said. “You need a training pace that you can hold for the entire distance of the marathon. If you hold true to that pace, then you won’t hit the wall.

“Elite athletes are so in-tune with their bodies and can fluctuate the pace. They know through training to hold a 5:05 to 5:07 mile average pace. On extra warm and cold days, they can make slight adjustments. If they do not deviate and run any faster, in theory, they should never hit the wall.”

But it happens; even to Kastor’s pupils, including Deena.

“She hit the wall in Chicago in 2005,” he recalled. “She went out too quickly and burned all of the glycogen that she stores. She learned about hitting the wall. Six months later, she nailed the pace in (winning the) London Marathon. She learned to go more conservatively and we made a slight correction.”

Becky Wade, one of America’s top young distance runners, never hit the wall while winning her only marathon in Sacramento.

“My coach and I had me run conservatively, and I never got to a point of reaching the wall,” the 26-year-old from Houston said. “I was uncomfortable at the end, but I never was feeling tortured.

“It’s easy to go hard early and fall apart and break down later in races. Ideally, you want to consume as many calories and electrolytes during the race as you can. You have to stick to your plan.”

It’s not necessarily age, but the number of marathons under a runner’s belt, that might help in preparing for the distance.

“I’m more mature and try to not go out as fast as I used to,” Tapia said. “I understand the science of glycogens and fat fuel. I try to conserve the gas in my tank and fuel for as long as I can before making any move. But you can’t worry about it.”

Kastor tells his runners to use some type of fructose-like or corn syrup gel during the race. It can be diluted into a water bottle, about 3 ounces to 4 ounces per bottle. The top athletes have designated fluid stations at key points throughout the race and each has his or her own clearly marked bottle.

Reyes, 33, ran the L.A. Marathon in 2006 and 2007 and hit the wall both times.

“It took me awhile to overcome and understand how to get the body through all 26 miles of racing,” said the Palmdale runner. “I think it affects the novice, or beginners, more than veterans.

“For me, it is all about conditioning. That way there is less chance. You have to be patient early in the race and put it in your bank for later in the race, so the last six miles are really your best. It’s a matter of practice.”

But refueling and rehydrating is not an exact science, either. What might work for one elite athlete at six miles will not work for another.

“I found I can’t take sugar too early,” Reyes said. “If I take too much sugar, I bonk too early. And you think you have the strategy down, but your body changes over time. You definitely have to find in practice what works with your particular body.”

One reason why elite athletes do not suffer against the wall so much is because they are not on the course as long.

And with the expected heat wave Sunday, that could be an issue for some athletes.

“For many athletes, running for 4- to 4½-hour marathons, it’s a lot easier for them to hit the wall,” Kastor said. “You’re really burning through a lot of glycogens. If you’re taking in sugar, it offsets hitting the wall and you have a better chance.”

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